Time indicating mechanism



July 10, 1945.

N. HAMMER TIME INDICATING MECHANISM Filed Aug 5, 1944 I N V EN TOR.

ATI'DRN EYE Patented July 10, 1945 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE TIME;INDICATING MECHANISM Nathan Hammer, New York, N. Y. Application August3, 1944, Serial No. 547,864

3 Claims.

The invention relates to a timepiece, and more especially to watches,clocks or the like having visible tim indicating mechanism constitutingrefinements over the subject matter of Letters Patent No. 2,202,581,issued on May 28, 1940.

The primary object of the invention is the provision of mechanism ofthis character, wherein a stationary dial has digits thereon indicativeof hour periods ranging from one to twenty or from one to one hundredhour periods, whiletracking such dial are minute and second hands, thesecoacting with indicia representative of fifty minutes and fifty secondsperiods of time divisions on the dial, all being quickly and readilydiscerned, the half-hour periods of time being identified by visibilityof several hour period digits concurrently with each other, through adouble Window exposure disk and the hour periods digits are accentuatedindependently of the others thereof on the hour throughout the rang ofthe same, through this window in single order exposure, thus adaptingthe said indicating mechanism for worldwide usage.

Another object of the invention is the provision of mechanism of thischaracter, wherein the time registry is eiiected by a dial, windoweddisk and hands, for disclosing accurately and minutely the exact time bythe hour, minute and second periods thereof progressively throughout adetermined range, the mechanism being novel and unique and is adaptablefor clocks, watches or the like.

A further object of the invention is the provision of mechanism of thischaracter, wherein the time-piec works are not altered, excepting thatthe hour, minute and second timing arbors are interfitted with eachother, the windowed disk being turned by one, and the minute and secondhands turned by the others, which together with the disk track the dialfor time telling purposes.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of mechanism ofthis character, which is simple in construction, thoroughly reliable andefiicient in operation, durable, conveniently read able for time tellingpurposes, and inexpensive to manufacture and install.

With these and other objects in view, the in vention consists in thefeatures of construction, combination and arrangement of parts as willbe hereinafter more fully described, illustrated in the accompanyingdrawing, which discloses the preferred embodiment of the invention, andpointed out in the claims hereunto appended.

In the accompanying drawing:

Figure l is a plan view of a wrist watch showing the mechanismconstructed in accordance with the invention installed therewith.

Figure 2 is a fragmentary sectional View through the mechanism underinstallation in the watch.

Figure 3 is a detail plan view of the rotary windowed disk of suchmechanism. I

Figure 4 is a plan view of the dial of such mechanism.

Similar reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout theseveral views in the drawing.

, Referring to the drawing in detail, A desi nates generally the casingof the watch, which is in this instance of the wrist fitting type, andhas its front wall formed with an aperture l0, closed by a transparentlens II, fixed within a base 12 mounted on the casing about saidaperture. Within the casing and in the rear of the lens I is a ternaryof shafts, one arranged within the other, for independent rotation. Thesaid ternary of shafts comprise hour, minute and second shafts I3, 14and 15, respectively, which are operated by a timing mechanism ofordinary construction, not shown, as built within the casing in theusual well-known manner, it being understood that said timing mechanismper se forms no part of the present invention, it being merely referredto for the purpose of an understanding of the construction and manner ofoperation of the time indicating mechanism constituting the presentinvention and hereinafter set forth.

The time indicating mechanism constituting the present invention,comprises a stationary dial l5 secured in place by a suitable dialholder for matching the lens I i, which is spaced outwardly therefrom,and providing therebetween a raceway or chamber I! having projectedtherein the shafts l3, l4 and 15, these being loosely carried centrallythrough the dial 16. Th dial I6 is provided on its outer face with innerand outer concentrically arranged circular zones l8 and IS. The outerzone I9 is provided with indicia 20, for instance, digits or Arabicnumerals 1 to 20, inclusive, indicative of hour periods of time, in aprogressive range, which also may be from 1 to 100, hour periods oftime, or otherwise. The inner zone 18 is defined in respect to the outerzone by a circumscribed scale 2| indicative of the minutes and secondsperiods of each hour periods of time defined by the outer zone, and thisscale is further provided with indicia 22, for instance Arabic numerals,indicative of the number of seconds per minute.

Within the chamber or raceway I! extend an appropriate distance theshafts l3, l4 and I5, one beyond the other, and secured to the outer endof the hour shaft l 3 is an hour indicating disk 23 having central andouter opaque circular areas 24 and 25, while between these is anintermediate circular transparent area 26, the latter and the area 25being concentric to the area 24, so that the transparent area 26 willexpose through the lens II the scale 2| and the indicia 22 with whichcooperate minute and second hands 2! and 28, respectively, suitablyattached to their minute and second shafts l4 and I5, respectively.

The outer opaque area 25 has a width coincident with the outer zone IQof the dial I 6, and this area is provided with a transparent window 29,which is divided by a demarcation line 30 for effecting separated sightpanels 3| thereto, and on the rotation of this disk either of the panels3| makes visible one of the hour indicating num rals in rear thereof onthe dial It, thus progressively disclosing definitely the hour periodsof time. periods of time when the two panels 3| make fully visiblethrough the window 29 two of the hour numerals adjacent to each other atone and the same time, then this exposure is indicative of the half-hourperiod of an hour, the demarcation line 30 being an identifying markingfor the hour periods of time, and the panels 3| make visible theparticular hour throughout the indicial 20 range thereof.

The minute hand 21 is of less length than the second hand 28, and inthis manner the same are distinguished from each other in the reading ofthe time indicating mechanism.

From the foregoing, it will be apparent that there has been provided asimple and effective form of tim indicating mechanism whereby the hour,half-hour are accentuated and thus quickly and readily discerned from adistance, together with the minutes and seconds thereof. Also. it willbe seen that such mechanism for indicating time has a maximum hourperiods range, from one to twenty hours or from one to one hundredhours, and the minutes and seconds range each is from one to fifty, thefifty minutes making the hour, and the fifty seconds making the minutefor time indications.

To make effective a disclosure of half hour What is claimed is:

1. A time indicating mechanism for a watch, clock or the like, havingtime shafts, a time dial having outer and inner time zones, eachprovided with time denoting indicia, a disk fixed to one of the saidshafts and provided with a transparent portion overlying said innerzone, and an opaque portion having a double paneled transparent windowoverlying the outer zone for making visible singly and doubleprogressively the indicia in the latter, and indicator hands fixed tothe other shafts and overlying the inner zone for co-action with thetime indicia therein and visible through the transparent portion of thesaid disk.

2. A time indicating mechanism for a watch, clock or the like, havintime shafts, a time dial having outer and inner tim zones, each providedwith time denoting indicia, a disk fixed to one of the said shafts andprovided with a transparent portion overlying said inner zone, and anopaque portion having a double paneled transparent window overlying theouter zone for making visible singly and double progressively theindicia in the latter, and indicator hands fixed to the other shafts andoverlying the inner zone for co-action with the time indicia therein andvisible through the transparent portion of the said disk, the handsbeing of different lengths with respect to each other.

3. A time indicating mechanism for a watch, clock or the like, havingtime shafts, a time dial having outer and inner time zones, eachprovided with time denoting indicia, a disk fixed to one of the saidshafts and provided with a transparent portion overlying said innerzone, and an opaque portion having a double paneled transparent windowoverlying the outer zone for making visible singly and doubleprogressively the indicia in the latter, indicator hands fixed to theother shafts and overlying the inner zone for co-action with the timeindicia therein and visible through the transparent portion of the saiddisk and means included in the window for coaction with the timedenoting indicia in the outer zone for indicating half-time periods ofreading thereof.

NATHAN HAMMER.

